There's a Russian Shawl Quilt, inspired by traditional motifs of Russian folk art, a Floral Frocks Quilt inspired by summer dresses, flower gardens and herbaceous borders and a Suits and Ties Quilt reusing sober woollen suiting contrasting with extravagant silk ties designed in an Irish Chain.Finally, a practical section covers all the knowledge you’ll need – from chainpiecing, hand-quilting and sandwiching to binding, storage and caring for your quilt. Armed with the design tools, you can embark on your quilting journey and begin creating your own personal masterpiece.

    Featuring six themed chapters – rustic, traditional, contemporary, monochrome, Scandinavian and kids – there’s something for everyone: you can select your favourite Christmas style or mix and match throughout your home. With over 30 simple, stylish projects requiring only half yards of fabric, this book will have you feeling festive in no time. Featuring Debbie’s unique brand of friendly guidance, and packed with easy-to-follow photography, this book is ideal for beginners as well as providing inspiration to more experienced sewers.

    But what it lacks in years, it makes up for in its range of use. Acrylics appeared on the market for artists in the late 1940s as a quick-drying alternative to oil paint. In its early manifestations, it dried so quickly that more than a few brushes stuck immediately to the canvas!Although acrylic has been around for more than fifty years, incredible advances continue to be made in the research and development of acrylic polymers and pigments. These advancements are attributable not only to the efforts of a few dedicated chemists, but also to the work of an entire community devoted to acrylic. There are a lot of brilliant minds taking these minute molecules very seriously.

    Sewers will discover what supplies to buy and how to use them, the best fabrics to choose based on drape and weave, how to understand patterns and alter them, and the essential general techniques to master — plus patterns and detailed step-by-step instructions are provided for a skirt, dress, shirt, tee, jacket, and pair of pants — including suggested variations!Finishing up with tips and inspiration on alterations, repairs, and customizing any clothes, from dealing with holes and tears to lengthening and shortening sleeves, this handy guide is the dressmaking bible no budding seamstress should be without.

    With simple step-by-step instructions that are accompanied by templates and pattern pieces, each project is designed to be completed in just a few hours. Get inspired and turn a yard of your favorite fabric into a quilted lunch bag, bright sundress, or a cuddly plush turtle.

    Begin by exploring a variety of weave structures, including finger-manipulated laces, tapestry, and color play with stripes, plaids, and multicolor yarns. Then move on to more complex designs and irresistible projects, from pillows and curtains to bags, shawls, and even jewelry. Explore warp-face patterning, weft-pile weaving, weaving with fine threads, woven shibori, shadow weave, and the textural effects you can create with different yarns and with wire and conductive thread. Everything you need to know is here, with fully illustrated step-by-step instructions to ensure success.

    Crinolines and ruffs. Chain mailand corsets. What do these antiquated items have to do with the oh-so-twenty-first-century skinny jeans, graphic tee, and sexy pumps you slipped into this morning? Everything! Fashion begets fashion, and life—from economics to politics, weather to warfare, practicality to the utterly impractical—is reflected in the styles of any given era, evolving into the threads you buy and wear today. With the candidness, intelligence, and charm that made him a household name on Project Runway, Tim Gunn reveals the fascinating story behind each article of clothing dating back to ancient times, in a book that reads like a walking tour from museum to closet with Tim at your side. From Cleopatra’s crown to Helen of Troy’s sandals, from Queen Victoria’s corset to Madonna’s cone bra, Dynasty’s power suits to Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits, Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible takes you on a runway-ready journey through the highs and lows of fashion history. Drawing from his exhaustive knowledge and intensive research to offer cutting-edge insights into modern style, Tim explains how the 1960s ruined American underwear, how Beau Brummell created the look men have worn for more than a century, why cargo capri pants are a plague on our nation, and much more. He will make you see your wardrobe in a whole new way. Prepare to be inspired as you change your thinking about the past, present, and future of fashion!

    The Forgotten Arts & crafts brings together in a single absorbing volume two best-selling classics, The Forgotten Arts and Forgotten Household Crafts, written by the acknowledged "Father of Self-sufficiency" John Seymour. Taking the reader on an evocative journey through the worlds of traditional craftspeople -- from blacksmith to bee-keeper, wainwright to housewife -- Seymour celebrates their honest skills, many of which have disappeared beneath the tread of progress. With characteristic passion, Seymour demonstrates that these country arts and household crafts need never be forgotten. From woodland and building crafts to the tasks of the kitchen and laundry, he explores every aspect of traditional life. Materials and workshop tools are usefully annotated, and techniques evoked in engaging words and pictures. Over 1,700 detailed illustrations and photographs bring to life each craft and skill. In an affectionate and nostalgic account, John Seymour recalls a lifetime of encounters with working craftspeople in different parts of the world and describes the trades and household activities he saw practiced in the countryside of his youth. With a crusading vigor, he commends the joys of noble toil and makes a compelling plea for "virtuous craftsmanship," which may, without vigilance, vanish forever.Originally published as two separate books: The Forgotten Arts and The National Trust Book of Forgotten Household Crafts.

    She is a thread artist. And in Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing, she'll show how to harness the power of her fearless kamikaze sewing style–just dive in and give it 100 percent. Here you'll not only find out the nuts and bolts of sewing, but learn to have confidence to blaze your own sewing trail with confidence and flair. (And sprinkle of glitter!) The Crafty Chica is here to bring out the thread artist in you. Whether you can hardly sew on a button or are already threading bobbins like a champ, Kathy's got a project just for you. From place mat totes to embellished skirts, Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing proves that you're in charge of your sewing machine, not the other way around. With these 30 fun fabu-low-sew projects to carry, wear, and use around the home, you can leave the ordinary behind and channel your own Crafty Chica within.

    Small in scale, low in price, but large in impact, these books present and disseminate new and innovative theories. The modest format of the books in the Pamphlet Architecture Series belies the importance and magnitude of the ideas within.

    Her attitude toward curating her own collection of designs is informed as much by travel, cultural history, and tried-and-true sourcebooks as it is by modern media and technology. In Magpies, Homebodies, and Nomads, Rose takes readers behind the scenes of her design process, showing them how she curates and organizes ideas and translates them into knitwear designs. Through 25 projects that fall into three categories—Magpies (accessories for the small amounts of precious yarns that knitters inevitably collect), Homebodies (garments for time spent close to home), and Nomads (garments to wear when venturing out into the world)—Rose shares her modern aesthetic and invites readers to develop their own.

    We lack the fashion know-how we need to dress professionally and beautifully. In The Lost Art of Dress, historian and dressmaker Linda Przybyszewski reveals that this wasn't always true.In the first half of the twentieth century, a remarkable group of women -- the so-called Dress Doctors -- taught American women that knowledge, not money, was key to a beautiful wardrobe. They empowered women to design, make, and choose clothing for both the workplace and the home. Armed with the Dress Doctors' simple design principles -- harmony, proportion, balance, rhythm, emphasis -- modern American women from all classes learned to dress for all occasions in ways that made them confident, engaged members of society. A captivating and beautifully illustrated look at the world of the Dress Doctors, The Lost Art of Dress introduces a new audience to their timeless rules of fashion and beauty -- rules which, with a little help, we can certainly learn again.

    Although James had no formal training as a dressmaker, he created strikingly original and complex designs, including intricate ball gowns worn by members of high society in New York and Europe. This lavishly illustrated book offers a comprehensive study of James’ life and work, highlighting his virtuosity and inventiveness as well as his influence on subsequent fashion designers.   Featuring exciting new photography of the spectacular evening dresses James produced between 1947 and 1955, this publication includes enlightening details of these intricate creations alongside vintage photographs and rarely seen archival items, such as patterns, muslins, dress forms, and sketches. A detailed and illustrated chronology of James’ life describes his magnetic personality, his unorthodox design processes, his colorful supporters—such as Salvador Dalí, Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, and Cristobal Balenciaga—and profiles of a number of his famous clients, such as Gypsy Rose Lee. With flair and style echoing that of its subject, Charles James brings to life one of the most fascinating and creative figures in American fashion.

    A wonderfully evocative memoir about what we wear - that goes far more than skin deep